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After a young woman stops to take a break from her travels she runs into a shinobi that catches her interest. They end up finding out that they have a lot more in common than they had thought, but his leaving does leave the girl with lots of unanswered questions.

"Silence in the Dark"

Outside of an unknown village in the Land of Lightning

Darkness is still cast over the Land of Lightning and all is still as most everyone has gone to their beds this evening. Everyone except a lone girl with an umbrella walking down the lone path to a nearby village. Soen was leaving to go to the Jump Headquarters and decided to take the long way around, since she hasn't had much of a chance to travel lately. There weren't many in Kirigakure that needed a notice about her leaving so she could leave rather quickly. Soen pauses in her walking for a moment to take in the quiet scenario, which is broken by the sounds of some loud insects. She flinches faintly and shakes her head slowly before continuing. Once she arrived at the village the first place she stopped was just outside of it in a nearby forest. She knew she needed to take a break for the night, but she didn't feel like actually stopping by the inn there. There was still too much risk of her 'silencing' any louder than average tenants, and she didn't feel like being on the run quite yet. Perhaps when she had more control over her abilities. Opening her pouch she pulls out a small neatly folded blanket and lays it out on the ground. She gives the area another quick scan to make sure there weren't any unwanted guests she'd need to turn her attention to before sitting at the base of a tree. She wasn't quite ready to go to bed, so she may as well wait until she began to feel tired.

Simply moving out under the blanket of Darkness was Jin. The man was headed to the Land of Water to watch the Exams and possible procure a few useful items or people. Jin's notice was given and it didn't seem like much of a fuss was raised about him leaving. He was rather upset that he didn't have the opportunity to dispose of Ayumo. But he could always do that when he returned. Eri wasn't in the village anyway so it would be rather pointless. The journey would take 2 days for those two days Jin had made a nuisance of himself to a few. One group of Bandits felt his wrath. A few monks succumbed to his darkness. A Leaf Shinobi narrowly escaped him but not without heavy injuries.

All manner of things come alive in the darkness. They thrive on the black cloak that swallows the land and sky. The vivaciously sing their tune in the night breaking the silence with their hymn of shadows. Jin was no different. In the dark is where he was the most comfortable. Jin came to a dark forest and trekked on casually. His footsteps were not muffled and he was humming a little tune that he'd forgotten some time ago, but of course he isn't aware that he's forgotten it. Jin's mask is fashion on his head angled off to the side. There was no need for him to be weary or frightened of what goes 'bump' in the night. Jin comes around a tree where he finds a person at the base in the darkness. Jin's florescent yellow eyes flicker in the night. A gleam shimmered off them as he gazes downward. "What's this?"

Soen looks over at Jin as he approaches well aware of his presence from his unmuffled steps. She thought that the insects grating on her ears wasn't bad enough, now she had to deal with a stranger. She gazes over him silently for a moment before her eyes rest on the mask on the side of his head. She blinks for a moment before standing up to look at it on eye level. For some reason the mask reminded her of Mugon, she wasn't exactly sure why. Could he…no that would be impossible..would it? She stares at it quietly for a moment before looking Jin in the eyes still analyzing him. He didn't seem to be the sort to understand her signing, but he seemed like a person she actually wanted to speak to her. Reaching down to her side she pulls out a piece of parchment and writing material before working on a note for Jin. She holds up the note for him 'Greetings. Would you care to sit with me? I believe we have a lot of things we could discuss.' She tears the note off and hands it to him so he may get a closer look before reaching down for her own mask. Quietly she places the mask tilted on her hand much as Jin had his and waits on his response.

Jin watches the woman closely at first. He notes the look in her eyes as she rises. Jin inclines his head then as she pulls out a piece of parchment. With his curiosity already aroused Jin was more than willing to see what she was up to. Jin takes the note from her and scans it calmly. Jin then looks to her mask and starts to peace information together. He looks to her neck, which is covered by the high collar of her dress, before handing the note back to her. "I prefer to stand." he says to her. Jin peers at her mask now and inclines his head. He had a few questions for her as well but he'd let her reveal them at a later point in this conversation. "Murakami Jin." he states. He grins "That's my name." He added "The Murakami are well known for their performances in the genre of horror and terror." Jin bows his head slightly. "But you need not be afraid yet." he states with a dark chuckle.

Jin shifts his mask over his face a little, letting one eye peak out past his scarlet bangs. "Kurozuka." he lets Soen get a good look at his mask. The face of the Onibaba is what the mask resembled to any who knew the tale. Jin would be silent now and let Soen tell him a little bit. He was looking for her to jot down another note. He'd figured by some means her voice was silenced. Perhaps it was a toll taken by her ritual but Jin couldn't be certain of anything other than the fact that she too was of the Nogakujin. Her interest when she first spotted Jin gave it away, along with the mask.

Soen nods in understanding when he tells her that he prefers standing and quietly listens to Jin as she gazes closely at the mask waiting until he was completely finished before beginning her writing. She didn't really ever get a chance to know her family so she never had any idea of what their specialties were or if they even had any specialties at all, but she did vaguely remember them giving a single play to Kesshi before they sent him away. That was back when he managed to track them down in an attempt to ease her sadness. She could still remember him helping her reenact part of it every night before she went to sleep. Her writing stops as she thinks back to it and she sadly stares at the parchment. That was..far too long ago. She glances up from the parchment before finishing up what she was writing and offering it to Jin. The parchment read 'Koujaku Soen, I am afraid I do not remember my family I was or still am an orphan. Mugon Deddo is his full name, but he does not mind being referred to as Mugon for short. His tale is not one many are aware of as my parents wrote it themselves…It is too long for me to write down at a moment's notice, but perhaps if we were to meet later I will have it written for you to read. Please, do not mind the writing. If you could not already tell I was born mute.' She moves her mask over to allow Jin to get a closer look as well although she was rather hesitant. She still had so many questions for him, but she didn't know how to word them exactly.

Jin takes the note once again reading over it. Jin nods softly understanding Soen situation. She must know very little of the Nogakujin. Jin's eyes stop on the orphan section of her note. He'd be oddy drawn into it and would stare until a violent mental shock caused him great pain. They were becoming more frequent now. Jin winces and pressed his palm to his temple. He'd step back away from Soen while he recovered from the shock. They've become ever so frequent ever since Eri had played with is head. Jin just thought it was a side effect of her genjutsu at first. But an image, a frightening image, appeared in his head every time he experienced these shocks. He noticed it with Sanado especially. "He's finally waking up…." Jin mutters softly to himself. All the more reason he had to hurry and get to the Land of Water. He needed to swallow someone soon to suppress this 'undesirable'.

Jin looks to Soen "I'm fine." he assures her. "But time is not something I have." He states. Jin moves back towards Soen "I'm sure you have questions." he hands her the note back "But I have not the time." Jin places a finger on her mask. "But when the time comes we'll be able to speak freely. Your voice will be heard." he nods. He slips his mask off and presents it to her "Once blessed they become connected. I can hear the voice of others sometimes…sometimes it's the last voice they have to offer." Jin states with a grin. "Soen…we don't tell our stories. We perform them. Next time I'd like to see your performance."

Soen blinks a little concerned at Jin as he backs away from her in apparent pain. She holds a hand out to him to try and get him to stop, he couldn't leave yet, she didn't even know what was said that would make him want to leave. Did she attempt to silence him by accident? She could have sworn she had a basic control over Mugon by now. The fear of losing this chance to have her questions about Mugon answered scared Soen more than she'd like to admit. When he speaks up the concern is eased and she shyly brings her hand back in. She flinches faintly as Jin actually touches Mugon, but blinks when nothing happens. Perhaps it was because she was near him, but maybe it was because he was so similar to her? The last time someone other than her attempted to touch her mask it ended..badly. She looks at the mask presented to her and blinks for a moment before reaching out to rest a finger on it as well. She quickly pulls her hand away and looks back at Jin making sure she did not overstep any boundaries. Soen smiles sadly when Jin says he wishes to see her performance, but she nods her head faintly. She had not performed the play since Kesshi's passing, perhaps it would be nice to reminisce. Her version of the story was different to say the least, but with help she should be able to perform for him.